Sen Asian Kitchen Opens in Century City: CAA & Hello Panda Biscuits

Sen Asian Kitchen, tucked behind the CAA building in Century City, opened on Monday, January 31st. "We're still working out the kinks," said a flustered Sen employee. Judging by some of the meal presentations and half-filled creamy rock shrimp hand rolls, it will take a bit of time. Though it's hard not to appreciate a place selling chocolate-covered Pocky sticks and three kinds of Hello Panda biscuits.

The Thomas Schoos (Tao, Koi, The Penthouse) designed restaurant is an order-at-the-counter type of spot, where you choose a table in the 50+ seat dining room or outdoor patio. There's also a 10-seat sushi bar in the back of the restaurant. It's an unlikely bedfellow with the casual neighboring establishments: it sits next to The Stand, Habenero Grill, and City Express.

The menu consists primarily of soups and udon; specialty hand rolls; a la carte veggies; fried rice bowls; noodles; and Chinese meat entrees. To make things flow a bit smoother in the kitchen, a note from the management to picky eaters encourages "no modifications or substitutions" on menu items. The website hasn't been set up yet, but will be www.senasiankitchen.com. Tentative hours are 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Monday-Friday.